Posts Tagged: Derek Downey

In March of 2012 when we were touring The Bee Collective's Bee Sanctuary near The Domes on the UC Davis campus with beekeeper/manager Derek Downey, we remember seeing an unusual "bee hive"--a wood duck box, moved there from a rural location after swarming honey bees claimed it.

Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology recognized it right away. He's seen or heard of many a wood duck box taken over by honey bees looking for a suitable home.

It's enough to drive the duck enthusiasts quackers.

The question came up again this week, as it periodically does. Someone asked him: "How do you keep wood duck boxes for their intended purpose?" Mussen's observations are worth repeating.

"Years ago I spent some time with a UC Davis student trying to find ways to dissuade honey bees from nesting in wood duck boxes," Mussen recalled. "They had found one box in which the female duck refused to go, so the bees built their combs right down over and around her, killing her. We tried to prevent the bees from being able to grip the top of the box, where they connect their downward-hanging combs. The Teflon tape that we used prevented them from starting at the top and building down. But, they started on the wall at a corner, build some comb up against the Teflon--yes, beeswax sticks to Teflon--then built the combs down. The stickum on the Teflon tape wasn’t good enough to keep the combs stuck to the top, so the whole thing eventually collapsed in a heap."

"We tried Insectape strips (produced by Rainbow Technology) that were supposed to repel bees and wasps from building in electric boxes. We poured the artificial 'swarms' into the boxes to see if they would be driven out by the pesticide strip. It killed them--they didn’t leave. The strips might repel a real swarm under natural conditions, but that is not how we tested it."

"It would be pretty hard to determine where the swarms originate. Right around swarm time is when many beekeepers are looking for suitable locations to build up their colonies and make 'splits.' The bees need a good supply of food for building up, and beekeepers may be moving their bees close to wood duck nesting areas for the spring nectar and pollens."

One option is placing bee boxes near the wood duck boxes to trap honey bee swarms, "especially of the boxes contain some previously used combs."

"There also is a honey bee attractant--pheromone--that can be purchased from beekeeping supply companies to entice the bees into the trap box," Mussen says. "For whatever reason, the trap hives work best at about nine feet off the ground. Some of the beekeeping supply companies also offer what look like really large flower pots with a cover. They are made of some sort of wood pulp--so they don’t really look like bee boxes. By opening a quarter-sized hole in the narrow end, the pots can be put out as trap hives and work pretty well. Despite your best intentions, however, some of the swarms just ignore the trap hives and go somewhere else. So, some will end up in the duck boxes, anyway."

What to do? Visit the wood duck boxes frequently to remove the bees before they accomplish much. "Unfortunately, once they have built some comb in the box," Mussen says, "the odor makes the box much more attractive to the next swarm."

Another issue: some folks troubled by the declining bee population insist on letting honey bees be. "We have become 'blessed' with an increasing number of individuals who believe that honey bees should be left to their own devices, to do whatever happens," he says.

So, to all those folks wanting to retain wood duck boxes for ducks, Mussen says to engage in periodic monitoring to help out their feathered, webbed buddies. That includes removing the bees.

Mussen didn't say this, but I think he meant that you don't have to get up at the "quack of dawn" to do it.

This wood duck box is being used as a bee hive in The Bee Sanctuary on the UC Davis campus. Examining it is Derek Downey who directs The Bee Collective and The Bee Sanctuary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This wood duck box is being used as a bee hive in The Bee Sanctuary on the UC Davis campus. Examining it is Derek Downey who directs The Bee Collective and The Bee Sanctuary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Participants helped "create beautiful painted signs for the garden, helped finish digging more hugelkulter garden beds, wrote love letters to the bees (to be buried in time capsule in garden), and offered donations to the Davis Bee Collective, including a shed," Downey noted.

Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology discussed native bees, including bumble bees, carpenter bees and leafcutting bees, and also answered questions on honey bees. European colonists brought honey bees to what is now the United States in 1622.

Beekeeper Elizabeth Frost, staff research associate at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis, displayed an observation hive and fielded questions about honey bees, including how long they live and what they need to survive. “A queen bee can live two to three years,” she said, “but most commercial beekeepers requeen their hive every year.”

As Frost talked, the queen bee in the observation hive continued to lay eggs. “In the peak season, she can lay 2000 eggs as day,” Frost said.

The event also included a potluck, honey tasting (more than 10 flavors) and an information table featuring resources on keeping bees and lists of bee friendly plants.

The hives in the sanctuary are lettered with such names as "Just Bee," "Bee Happy," "Birdhouse" and "the Whaler Superorganism."

For the occasion, first-year beekeeper Eva Dopico, a second grade teacher at Cesar Chavez Elementary School, Davis, dressed as a bee.

Downey, a UC Davis engineering graduate, invites interested persons to join the Bee Collective and Bee Sanctuary; information on how to join is on the Davis Wiki website.

He moderates the Google group and adds new members. "If someone wants to just help out and learn about bees, they are always welcome to take part," he said. "We will have hives that are collectively managed so everyone can learn together. If someone wants to keep their own hive there, it is first-come, first served. We have space for 10 to 12 hives, max."

Members of the Bee Collective, a community-based group founded in 2005 by former UC Davis entomology graduate student Eli Sarnat, share resources, such as beekeeping equipment, books, and tools. Downey accepts donations for the Bee Collective and Bee Sanctuary (contact him at davisbeecharmers@gmail.com or (310) 694-2405.)

Bee Sanctuary work parties are held every Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the site. Downey anticipates filling the other empty hives in the sanctuary via swarms he collects in Davis, Dixon, Sacramento, Woodland, and Winters.

A grand opening initially set March 21 and then changed to March 31 has now been re-scheduled for Sunday, April 1.

“It’s supposed to rain hard on Saturday, March 31, and be nice on Sunday, April 1,” said Downey, who heads the Davis Bee Collective and its newly landscaped site, the Davis Bee Sanctuary.

He’s hoping the weather will “bee nice.”

The Davis Bee Collective, a community of small-scale beekeepers founded by a former UC Davis entomology graduate student Eli Sarnat, will host the grand opening of the sanctuary from 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday, April 1 on Orchard Park Drive, near The Domes student housing. The public is invited.

The open house will be an opportunity for area residents and prospective members to “come meet the beekeepers," Downey said. The event will include tours, honey tasting, a permaculture lesson covering hugelkultur (the drought-tolerant technique being used at the sanctuary), a free flower giveaway, seed exchange (bring seeds), and a presentation on native bees, which also will be sharing the sanctuary.

A special guest speaker will be Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology. Also planned: a display of native bee condos from Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis.

As of March 29, six hives now occupy the Bee Sanctuary. "We have four empty hives and space for a total of 12," Downey said. The hives are decorated with such names as "Just Bee," "Bee Happy," "Birdhouse" and "the Whaler Superorganism."

"The bee sanctuary is also place for people to meditate, smell the flowers, watch the bees and hummingbirds in the trees, and learn about permaculture---we're using a drought-tolerant method of gardening called hugelkultur ("hoogle culture") which involves burying logs of different sizes under the soil," Downey said. "The wood breaks down and becomes a sponge able to hold on to a ton of water so that in summer months you don't need to irrigate very much, if at all!"

Sarnat established the Bee Collective in 2005. Downey, who received his bachelor's degree in engineering from UC Davis in 2009, joined the Bee Collective in 2005 and then founded a small beekeeping business, the Davis Bee Charmers in 2010 and the Davis Bee Sanctuary in 2011. As the founder of the Davis Bee Charmers, he catches swarms, relocates hives, and teaches beekeeping lessons to individuals and groups.

Downey invites interested persons to join the Bee Collective and Bee Sanctuary; information on how to join is on the Davis Wiki website at http://daviswiki.org/Davis_Bee_Collective. He moderates the Google group and adds new members. "If someone wants to just help out and learn about bees, they are always welcome to take part," he said. "We will have hives that are collectively managed so everyone can learn together. If someone wants to keep their own hive there, it is first-come, first served. We have space for 10 to 12 hives, max."

Members of the Bee Collective share resources, such as beekeeping equipment, books, and tools. Downey accepts donations for the Bee Collective and Bee Sanctuary (contact him at davisbeecharmers@gmail.com or (310) 694-2405). He recently received dozens of donated perennials.

Bee Sanctuary work parties are held every Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the site.

Downey anticipates filling the other empty hives in the sanctuary via swarms he collects in Davis, Dixon, Sacramento, Woodland, and Winters.

Mmeanwhile, the Davis Bee Charmer is hoping the third time is the charm--for the weather to relent, that is.

View of the Davis Bee Sanctuary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

View of the Davis Bee Sanctuary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

If the weather cooperates, visitors to the Davis Bee Sanctuary can see foragers on the nearby blossoms. This one is on a nectarine blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

If the weather cooperates, visitors to the Davis Bee Sanctuary can see foragers on the nearby blossoms. This one is on a nectarine blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

That's when the Davis Bee Collective, a community of small-scale beekeepers founded by a former UC Davis entomology graduate student, will host the grand opening of their newly landscaped apiary, aptly named the "Davis Bee Sanctuary."

The event, open to the public, is scheduled from 1 to 5 p.m. at the site on Orchard Park Drive, Davis. The main ceremony starts at 1 p.m. However, folks will be filtering in and out from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., said Derek Downey, a seven-year beekeeper who coordinates the Davis Bee Collective and the Davis Bee Sanctuary.

Where is the Davis Bee Sanctuary? It's adjacent to the western edge of The Domes, a cooperative student housing community known for its dome-shaped structures. If you drive past The Domes on Orchard Park Drive, you'll see the Bee Sanctuary at the end of the street.

Ant specialist Eli Sarnat, who received his doctorate in entomology from UC Davis in 2009, founded the Davis Bee Collective in 2005. Now residing in Happy Camp, Siskiyou County, Sarnat is a postdoctoral researcher based at the University of Illinois, Urbana. And yes, he still keeps bees. He and a beekeeping partner maintain about 20 hives in Happy Camp.

His friend, Derek Downey, who received his bachelor's degree in engineering from UC Davis in 2009, joined the Bee Collective in 2005. Then in 2011, Downey founded The Bee Sanctuary as the place to keep the bees.

Downey owns and operates a small beekeeping business, the Davis Bee Charmers; he catches swarms, relocates hives, and teaches beekeeping lessons to individuals and groups.

Among those participating in the work parties at the Bee Sanctuary, held every Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m., are Melanie Lataste and her husband, Pierre Arrial of Nantes, France. Arrial is a postdoctoral scholar in the UC Davis Department of Geology.

What's on tap Saturday, March 31? "Come meet the beekeepers," Downey says. The event will include tours, honey tasting, a permaculture lesson covering hugelkultur (the drought-tolerant technique being used at the sanctuary), a free flower giveaway, seed exchange (bring seeds), and a presentation on native bees, which also will be sharing the sanctuary.

A special guest will be Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology.

Downey invites interested persons to join the Bee Collective and Bee Sanctuary; information on how to join is on the Davis Wiki website. Downey moderates the Google group and adds new members. "If someone wants to just help out and learn about bees, they are always welcome to take part," he said. "We will have hives that are collectively managed so everyone can learn together. If someone wants to keep their own hive there, it is first-come, first served. We have space for 10 to 12 hives, max."

Members of the Bee Collective share resources, such as beekeeping equipment, books, and tools. Downey accepts donations for the Bee Collective and Bee Sanctuary (email him at davisbeecharmers@gmail.com). He recently received dozens of donated perennials.

One of the hives at the sanctuary is actually a birdhouse, or what Mussen calls "a birdhouse for wood ducks." Davis homeowners "installed it to invite birds to live in it," Downey said, but a swarm of honey bees soon claimed it. So, Downey moved the birdhouse--bees and all--into the sanctuary.

Today (Tuesday, March 20) the bees in the birdhouse swarmed, as expected. They're now occupying a nearby hive in the sanctuary.

Downey anticipates filling the other empty hives soon with swarms.

Derek Downey checks out a birdhouse filled with bees. The bees swarmed March 30 and are now established in a once-vacant bee box in the sanctuary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Derek Downey checks out a birdhouse filled with bees. The bees swarmed March 30 and are now established in a once-vacant bee box in the sanctuary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Melanie Lataste examines a frame of honey. She and her husband, Pierre Arrial, are new members of the Bee Collective.

Melanie Lataste examines a frame of honey. She and her husband, Pierre Arrial, are new members of the Bee Collective.